AI Automation for Property Management Teams on Google Sheets
For property managers who run work orders out of a shared spreadsheet: an agent that logs each tenant's repair email as a work order, checks the unit's owner approval limit and preferred vendor, and drafts the reply to the tenant.
5 repair emails logged this morning. One marked urgent:
Customer
“The pipe under the kitchen sink is leaking and there's water on the floor since this morning. I put a towel down. Can someone come today? I'm home until 2.”
Agent draft · in your tone
Hi Alisha, thanks for letting us know. This is logged as work order WO-1187 and marked urgent. We've asked Rivera Plumbing to come today before 2 PM and will confirm the time shortly. Until then, please turn the shut-off valve under the sink clockwise to stop the water. — Birchwood Property Management
How can a property manager automate maintenance tracking in Google Sheets?
Give an agent the inbox tenants write to and the spreadsheet you track work orders in.
- 01
Trigger fires
When a repair request comes in, it finds the unit on your Units tab, adds a row to the Work orders tab with the issue, priority and date, and looks up that owner's approval limit and preferred vendor.
- 02
Match the sender to a unit on the Units tab
It emails the vendor for routine and urgent jobs, drafts a reply telling the tenant what happens next, and updates the row as the vendor confirms.
- 03
Log the work order with issue, priority and date
Quotes above the owner's limit, requests that don't say whether entry is allowed, and repeat reports of the same problem wait for the property manager to decide.
- 04
Send the job to the unit's preferred vendor
- 05
You approve
Anything under your confidence bar waits for a human.
How you tell it what to do
Built in plain English.
You write the rule the way you'd describe it to a teammate. The agent reads the rule, breaks it into the actions it'll take, and confirms the apps it'll touch — before it does anything.
- 1Match the sender to a unit on the Units tab
- 2Log the work order with issue, priority and date
- 3Send the job to the unit's preferred vendor
- 4Draft the tenant reply and update the row
How it connects
Connect Google Sheets. The agent does the rest.
Claude and ChatGPT are already running on our side. You connect Google Sheets with one click, and property management runs inside it.
Claude and ChatGPT run on our keys. Nothing for you to configure.
- Google SheetsConnect
- GmailConnect
- Google SheetsConnect
Runs on your data, in your apps.
Nothing to deploy. Nothing to maintain.
Actions
What Google Sheets + DeskFerry can do
Real Google Sheets actions your AI agent can perform automatically — no manual work required.
Add Sheet to Spreadsheet
Adds a new sheet (worksheet) to a spreadsheet. use this tool to create a new tab within an existing google sheet, optionally specifying its title, index, size, and other properties.
Aggregate Column Data
Searches for rows where a specific column matches a value and performs mathematical operations on data from another column.
Append Dimension
Tool to append new rows or columns to a sheet, increasing its size. use when you need to add empty rows or columns to an existing sheet.
Batch get spreadsheet
Retrieves data from specified cell ranges in a google spreadsheet; ensure the spreadsheet has at least one worksheet and any explicitly referenced sheet names in ranges exist.
Batch update spreadsheet
Updates a specified range in a google sheet with given values, or appends them as new rows if `first cell location` is omitted; ensure the target sheet exists and the spreadsheet contains at least one worksheet.
Batch Update Values by Data Filter
Tool to update values in ranges matching data filters. use when you need to update specific data in a google sheet based on criteria rather than fixed cell ranges.
Clear Basic Filter
Tool to clear the basic filter from a sheet. use when you need to remove an existing basic filter from a specific sheet within a google spreadsheet.
Clear spreadsheet values
Clears cell content (preserving formatting and notes) from a specified a1 notation range in a google spreadsheet; the range must correspond to an existing sheet and cells.
Create Chart in Google Sheets
Create a chart in a google sheets spreadsheet using the specified data range and chart type.
Create a Google Sheet
Creates a new google spreadsheet in google drive using the provided title.
Coastline Heating quoted $1,450 to replace the water heater. The owner's approval limit on the Units tab is $500.
Tenant reports a broken blind but didn't say if the vendor may enter with a key. Lease requires notice.
Third email about the same bathroom fan since Aug 30. WO-1142 is still open, so not logged again.
Human in the loop
Approve before it sends.
Every draft lands in a review queue. You approve, edit, or reject — the agent never acts on its own unless you explicitly turn that on for a workflow you trust.
Governance
Every action, with the reasoning attached.
Each step the agent takes is logged with what it did, why it did it, and which app it touched. Audit-ready, so security and compliance can sign off without backfilling.
- Agent9:41 AM
Set WO-1187 to "Scheduled 12:30 PM" after Rivera Plumbing replied.
- Agent9:30 AM
Held the water heater quote for 18 Elm Ct.
Reason: The $1,450 quote exceeds the owner's $500 limit on the Units tab, so the owner must approve it.
- Agent9:14 AM
Emailed Rivera Plumbing the job for WO-1187 with the unit address and tenant availability.
- Agent9:13 AM
Added WO-1187 on row 88 of Work orders, priority urgent because of active water.
- Agent9:12 AM
Matched alisha.k@ to 412 Birch St Unit 3B from the Units tab tenant email column.
How it works
Get started in three steps
Step 01
Connect the repairs inbox and the portfolio sheet
Link the Gmail address tenants write to and the Google Sheets file with your Units and Work orders tabs, including each owner's approval limit and preferred vendors.
Step 02
Write your maintenance rules
Say what counts as urgent, which vendor handles which trade at each property, how much each owner lets you approve, and what needs tenant permission to enter.
Step 03
Approve the exceptions
Routine repairs are logged and dispatched. Quotes over an owner's limit, unclear entry permission and repeat reports come to you with the thread attached.
Start automating Property Management for Google Sheets
7-day free trial. Works with the tools you already use.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Why would a property manager run work orders in a spreadsheet at all?
Plenty of smaller portfolios do, because a shared sheet is quick to set up, owners can be given a view, and vendors don't need a login. The weakness is that it only stays accurate if someone keeps typing. The agent does the typing from the emails and vendor replies, so the sheet reflects what actually happened.
How does it decide whether a repair is urgent?
From the rules you write. Most managers treat active water, no heat in winter, no hot water, and a door or window that won't lock as urgent. If a tenant mentions gas, smoke or sparks, the reply tells them to leave and call the utility or emergency services, and the manager is alerted right away.
Can it chase late rent from our rent roll too?
Yes, as a separate rule. If your rent roll tab has a paid date or balance column, the agent can draft reminders on the day after your grace period ends, using the tone and fee wording from your lease. Reminders can wait for your approval before they go out.
Do owners see what was spent on their property?
The Work orders tab records vendor, quote and final invoice amount per job. The agent can add a monthly tab per owner with their jobs and a chart of spend by trade, which you can share with the owner instead of assembling the report by hand.
We also use AppFolio or Buildium. Does the sheet replace it?
No. If your work orders already live in property software, keep them there. Teams in that position often use a sheet for things the software doesn't hold well, like vendor rate cards or a turnover checklist, and the agent can keep those tabs current. Check the integrations list for your system before planning a two-way setup.
Explore more